“Yuva”
Mani Ratnam, one of
“Yuva” is the story of three youngsters – Lallan (Abishek Bachchan), Michael (Ajay Devgan)
and Arjun (Vivek Oberoi)—and how their lives change after a violent
confrontation. Lallan
is a hit man who leads a life of violence and little else. Be it his way of dealing with his wife Sasi (Rani Mukherjee)
or his standoffs with the students, bestiality is what his character is all
about. He is on the rolls of a conniving
politician (Om Puri) who is
opposed in the elections by the student community led by Michael. Michael is the traditional “angry young man”
who wants to change the face of the society.
He wants to clean up the cesspool of politics and (rightly) believes
that youngsters are the future of the nation.
And, Arjun (Vivek Oberoi) is a happy-go-lucky guy who wants to settle in the
Mani Ratnam must’ve realized that he had to rely on novel storytelling to prop up this flimsy story (a la “Virumaandi”). So, with three storylines, alternate timelines and different incidents leading to the pivotal moment (on the bridge), Ratnam stuffs in a lot of punch through his screenplay. The movie is racy throughout, going into overdrive in the second half, and is never boring. But being a sucker for sensible cinema and Ratnam’s recent attempts at it (“Kannathil Muthamittaal” for example), I did come out of the theater a tad disappointed.
Why ever so?
Firstly, the blatant commercialism—for example, how many more times do we have to see Rani Mukherjee and Abishek Bachchan in bed? And, the violence—at times, it is totally gratuitous as in the scene where Abhishek shoots Vijay Raaz. How much longer are filmmakers going to rely on sex and violence to set the cash registers ringing? You too, Ratnam?!
Secondly, Ratnam throwing realism out of the window—Kareena Kapoor, for instance, who
is supposed to be engaged to someone, goes on a date with Vivek
Oberoi. Fine,
but she returns to her place in the early hours of the morning. This scene (about which I will talk later) is
a charming one. But,
what about logic? There’s no
place for that here! I would’ve been
interested in seeing how Kareena’s folks would’ve
reacted after she enters her house but we don’t see her family in even one,
single blessed scene! And, she even goes
to
And, finally the politics angle—now, lesser filmmakers rely on hullabaloos to depict student uprisings, without delving into the real issues that fail to get addressed by the filthy politicians who run the nation. But, let’s rewind a few years back to 1997, when Mani Ratnam came out with an underrated gem in “Iruvar.” “Boring,” “pseudo-documentary” and “sopoforic” were some of the words used to describe that movie. But now, there you had a movie that was a stunning portrayal of politicians. That movie had so much intrigue that’s sadly missing in “Yuva.” One could argue that politics is one of the peripheral aspects of the movie, let me then pose the question—then, why make a huge deal about students being ‘unpatriotic’ in leaving their nation to purse higher studies? The movie is so half-baked in its attempts at portraying the students’ take on politics that we’re left to wonder how the movie would’ve turned out had Mani Ratnam cut out the frills and focused on something real.
But having said all of that, I must say that the movie is entertaining on its own terms (it’s hard to view a masterful filmmaker’s movies without comparing it with any of his earlier works!). He fashions several interesting, varied characters that we care for. And, another thing that’s missing in most movies today and is thankfully present here is that the characters have arcs. For example, Rani Mukherjee’s and Vivek Oberoi’s characters make some crucial decisions at crucial points in their lives that are very believable.
Pacing is also one of the other strong points of “Yuva.” Though one might say that character development is sacrificed a bit in Ratnam’s quest for thrills, he does a fine job of keeping us at the edge of our seats at several points, especially in the second half when the movie’s done with all three ‘flashbacks.’ There’s a lot of exhilaration in the scenes where Michael leads the student community against Om Puri. The “Chakalakkabukka” song (why on earth did they not stick to “Janaganamana?!”) is spectacularly picturised, showing thousands of villagers voicing their support for Michael. And, the final scene in the assembly is so coolly acted by Devgan and Om Puri that the audience launches into applause spontaneously. Rehman’s background music aids the director well in ratcheting up the excitement in these sequences.
One area where the Director doesn’t disappoint is his handling of the ensemble cast. Even some of Mani Ratnam’s lesser movies (like “Pagal Nilavu” and Satyaraj’s contained villainy) have had some of the greatest acting turns of the last two decades. “Yuva” might’ve disappointed on some fronts but the high level of acting is one of its undeniable assets.
The best among the sextet of actors is Abhishek Bachchan, who crafts one of the rawest characters in contemporary cinema. This is a performance of astonishing conviction. The “rowdy” character is one of the most difficult of characters to portray—frothing at the mouth will not suffice. Volatility and impulsiveness should pop up out of the screen creating goosebumps for the audience. We should fear a ticking time bomb. And, this is brought out with brute force by Bachchan. A perfect foil for him is Rani Mukherjee, who’s given a role that showcases her abundant talent. She is one of those actresses who seems to get the audience on her side the moment we see her on screen. She has an inherent sweetness and charm that makes us feel protective towards her. This facet of her talent is well-tapped by Mani Ratnam, making us identify with her domestic troubles. There’s a powerhouse scene in the second half where she has taken an immutable decision to teach her husband a lesson. This is probably the best scene of the movie, thanks to the razor sharp verbal volleys between her and Bachchan. This is one of the few instances in the movie where the scriptwriter in Mani Ratnam comes to the fore. Bachchan’s cries of anguish in this scene are so utterly believable that we are disappointed that Ratnam doesn’t delve deeper into the character’s attempts at redemption.
Ajay Devgan brings in a lot of chutzpah to pretty much all of his roles and that’s exactly what he does with his Michael character here. His monologues on contemporary politics and students’ duties ring true, thanks to his assured dialogue delivery and confident body language. He also manages to infuse some light heartedness into his encounters with the villain (Om Puri). Esha Deol, playing his girlfriend, turns in an assured performance as the girl with modern values. Their scenes (especially the scene in the bike) are nicely scripted by Ratnam (though the bus scene is reminiscent of “Alai Payuthey”).
Vivek Oberoi is at his insouciant
best in his encounters with the gorgeous Kareena Kapoor. The two of
them share a playful chemistry that adds a lot of vitality to their
romance. He also does well in the
serious scenes (in the company of Devgan),
successfully projecting sincerity and earnestness. Kareena Kapoor’s Mira is the traditional Mani
Ratnam female character – cutesy cute, playful most
of the time, serious and assertive at times.
The scene where Oberoi drops her off (at
Technically,
the movie’s as superlative as any of Ratnam’s recent
endeavors. Though song picturisations (“Fanaa” is
especially disappointing) aren’t up to his usual standards, cinematographer Ravi K. Chandran and music
director Rehman ensure that the images and the tunes
linger in our minds long after the movie has ended. The lens work in the “Anjaanee”
song is magical. The usual Mani Ratnam touches are present
in the Abishek-Rani montages (the set for their house
and even some of the dance movements in the song remind us of the “Poovukkena Pootu” song from “
So, there
you go— Style over Substance…if this is your cup of tea, then try this
sumptuous offering from Mani Ratnam. The rest of us will have to wait patiently till
Mani Ratnam says, “Soul, my
sole asset.”